Keira Knightley in talks for Sugar Plum Fairy role in The Nutcracker

KEIRA Knightley is in talks to play the Sugar Plum Fairy in Disney’s adaptation of The Nutcracker.

Based on the classic ballet by Peter Tchaikovsky and the story by ETA Hoffmann, the film will follow a young girl named Clara who receives a nutcracker doll from her godfather on Christmas Eve.

When she goes to check on it later that night, the clock strikes midnight, and she finds herself thrust into a fantastical world where she is in the middle of a war between gingerbread soldiers and an army of mice.

Mackenzie Foy has previously been cast as Clara, while ballerina Misty Copeland and Morgan Freeman are also on board.

The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy is one of the signature pieces of The Nutcracker ballet but, owing to the nature of the adaptation, it is unclear whether the role calls for Knightley to dance.

It could be that Copeland is the only dancer in the movie.

Knightley is already established in the Disney family having starred in the studio’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.

She last appeared in Everest and will next be seen alongside Will Smith in the drama Collateral Beauty, which is due to open in the US in December.